SANA’A: Yemeni warplanes bombed Shia Houthi rebels yesterday, residents and local officials said, ending a brief ceasefire after at least 120 were killed in a flare-up of the northern rebellion.
Ahmed Al Bekry, deputy governor of Omran province, said earlier that 100 rebels and about 20 government soldiers had died on Monday in fighting and in air strikes on Houthi positions.
He said fighting had ended on Monday evening after the sides agreed a ceasefire and the situation was calm thanks to mediation efforts by the interior minister.
No details were immediately available of casualties from yesterday’s bombing.
As well as the fighting in Omran, where the Shia tribal militia is trying to cement its control over the northern highlands, Yemen is facing a threat from Al Qaeda and a challenge from separatists in the south.
Clashes have repeatedly erupted in the past months between government troops and Houthis — named after the Shia tribe of the leaders of the rebellion — as Sana’a struggles to restore nationwide control.
The Houthis blame elements of the Sunni Muslim Islah party in the military and in the Omran regional administration for the fighting.
REUTERS
